Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-06-22

real estate in western towns ana states
keeps up. Everybody is asking why 1t is,
and assert ng that it cannot last. But it
not only lasts, but is increasing rather
than hating or ceasing. To young peo-
pie, or those who cannot remember the
fsvorite form Of investment and money
making before the building of railways,
and other great internal Improvements, it
is no doubt marvel. To those who can
remember when land-in country, city and
town-was counted the one sure from in
vestment and moneY-making, it is not
even strange.
Thirty-five years ago there was butfew
millionaires in the United States. There
was but one west of the Alleghenies-
Nicholas Longworth, the great land own
er and wine grower of Cincinnati, and he
was the great curiosity and marvel OF the
west. The millionaires were then all on
the Atlantic coest-the portion of the
country first settled, and first made vain
able in It's land real estate generally.
Western land had not yet found either
great real or speculative value. The rich
men of the east we're the Astors and the
Girards, and all made rich by investments
in land which had gradually appreciated
in riches until it made them worth mil
lions. 1t was the policy of the
Gfrards and Astors in their hunt
for wealth to put all the money
they could into real estate and then never
sell it, but hold on to it and occupy 1t
with buildings to rent, erected by them
selves, or else by leasing it to others to
build upon. 1t was this policy, always
buying land and never selling It, that
do bpr rjC in
America. All other money-making men
nearly followed their example. These
men and their descendants never deViated
from this policy. Through all the era
of inflated stocks and watered securities
the later Astors have never been diverted
from the original belief OF the family,
that real estate is the one and only ebSo
lutte sure way TO great fortunes and
money making.
With the development of railways in
this country, came the Nanderbilts, Jim
Fisk, and later the CARROTS and Goulds,
or the magical millionaires of railway
stock. Under the marvellous shower of
gold falling all over the land, as railway
combinations were pushed, the richest
shower that ever fell on any land under
the sun, and in the birth of twice as much
railway and other corporation stock that
made every dollar really invested in rail
way building produce two in the
form of stocks that were never
paid for, millionaires sprung up in
every city and nearly every town, and
in few years we heard OF multi
milliOnaires in AmeriCa-men worth tive,
Ten, forty, fifty and hundred millions OF
dollars. Colossal fortunes to many were
F,11 Inv for - nj
titudes and such wave of prosperity
swept over the land rs brought its benefit
to nearly all Old-time commercial cir
culation and business rules were thrown
10 the winds, and the whole Gu untry went
ona general drunk, with stocks and paper
securities as the fsiTy-like agencies which
put men to sleep al night and fantastcsl-
lylwaked them up in the morning million
The unhealthy growth has TO come to
collapse. Stocks watered up from
dollars real value to an atlluent and di-
vidend paying value of $4,000, $4,000
or $1,000 eventu ally had 10 shrWel,
fall and collapse. The descent
was rapid. Water no longer
sold for more than diamonds.
People began to see the bloated stocks
losing their balloon shape. and coming
down towards par value of the money
actually put in. There was 8 crash in
the glass houses, and the country was
told that So 600, 600, 900 had been lost in
stock III eighteen months. This could
not be. For the 1900, coo, 000 were
never put in the stocks to lose Ii was
the evaporation of water. Il didn't ruin
the country, nor hurt X. For it was not
q a r-+b, ba .aN- ar
existed except in Imagination.
The first great tumble checked the pub
lie and sooered them and turned atten-
ton again to safe forms of investment.
Naturally and inevitably lsud, the earth,
or piece Of il, wss first turned to.
People with money 10 invest quit gam
bling and cult betting that railroad,
really worth $50, 600 mile, was in fact
worth 100000 g mile, or thst telephone
stock, or electric light stock, or mining
stock, could raise from 81 10 $4,000 in
value. They saw once more that resi-
estate WAS the thing 10 invest IN.
Just as the country came 70 its senses
on this, there came up also, al over the
nation s sweeping impulse on the part of
millions of people 20 get themselves 1
homes. The sgItsto1s Ct socialists and
communists, who propose, st the first
lump, to take the property Of the thrifty |
and the homes Of the Industrious and d.
vide them Up among the robbers and /
loafers Of the world, 10 doubt stimulated !
this impulse. Therefore much money
turned toward investments in real estate /
because OF the TWO cause.-The rich who /
wanted to ind some profitable and sure
investment in some form Il property not /
st the mercy Of stock gamblers, and the
people who wanted homes for their fam
lies.
LsnI snd lots under sucn & change, be-
csme in active demand. Where two
yesrs $50. one man was buyer or bid
der for resi- estate, there ere nov 100
men in the market = buy. TIE capitalist
saws. ~ want Isnd 70 invest in because /.
I IS certain, safe and profitable" and .
the homeless man says, 81 want 10 put +
nv wife and children in home Of their .
own" Il Is the first duty or man who
= with s home